It's June 10, 2024, 04:51:28 AM
The only thing that gets me is where did Jay Z Christ come from all of a sudden? For years he has denigrated the black community himself by portraying it's acceptable and "cool" males as drug dealers, pimps, and gang members. He's reduced the image of black women to mute objects of shit, almost like items you can buy at a store. Luda said on Oprah there are women that are really like that, but most women aren't. However almost every woman in a rap video is. Jay Z may not have started this but he sure as hell didn't stand against it when it was his turn to make money.
Are the top guys at Crital racist? I don't know. Logic would make you think yes. They're probably also very classist and close minded, but we don't know for sure, and we certainly can't assume that saying you don't like hip hop or the mainstream hip hop community is something racist. Bill Cosby, BB King, outspoken civil rights activist Jim Brown, the NAACP, and the Nation have all stood against the poor morals and humiliation of black people that the current mainstream hip hop represents. Nobody says shit when Chuck D says Flav looks like a clown on his show, but if some middle to upper class white male said it everyone would be all over him.
It's a double standard and it's racism, and most off all it only hurts the black community. You think whites give a shit that blacks think it's okay to defend blacks against whites at any instance, or that blacks can be racist against themselves (and others) and whites can't, or that it's okay to automatically assume someone is being racist because he gives you a hard time and is of a different race. It's the blacks that live by this that end up going to jail, or getting kicked out of school, or leaving their pregnant girlfriends. Whites aren't affected by this, and if rich white America really does pull all the stops to keep blacks down then they are laughing right now, because al they have to do is let a few blacks get really rich (most of which will end up with little when it's all over) and let those blacks guide the poor blacks into man made hell. Who I truly feel for are the middle class blacks (the majority) who either get sucked in to the stret way of acting or get categorized as such, because all America gets to see are these terrible role models on TV and the whites end up thinking thats how blacks live and the impressionable young blacks end up thinking thats how blacks are supposed to live. It's God damn terrible.
OH, HELL NO. After Cristal gave Hip Hop the middle finger last week Jay-Z responded by saying that he wouldn?t support the liquor any longer and will cease sales in his 40/40 establishments. So what does Louis Roederer Cristal have to say about all of this? Well of course he had to back track his statements. According to All Hip-Hop Cristal responded: "A house like Louis Roederer would not have existed since 1776 without being totally open and tolerant to all forms of culture and art, including the most recent musical and fashion styles which - like Hip-Hop - keep us in touch with modernity," Yeah right....you got caught with your foot in your mouth. - Andreas Hale
I'm far from a Jay-Z myself, but I agree with what he's doing here. I don't agree with all the endless flossing, name brand dropping shit that's been going on in rap music for the last 10 years which is why I hope rappers will learn a lesson when it comes to this shit, but I doubt it will happen. I can't disagree with your comments about Jay-Z, but agree with what he's doing there. Don't give companies your cash if they act disrespectful towards you.
Racist? I don't know. Disrespectful? Most definitely. The other thing you mention is a whole other can of worms that will take too long to discuss here. I've always believed in keeping issues that affect the black community in house and those type of issues should be discussed in house instead of in front of the media, but again, that's a whole other issue. Does hip hop portray negative stereotypes of the black community? Yes it does, no doubt about that.
I'm not defending Jay-Z's decade long flossing brigade, I'm defending Jay-Z's decision at this instance. Does it make sense to give a company your money that views your community or what you do with contempt? No. Now as far as the other issue you bring up, such as blacks being quick to claim racism, I agree, it happens, possibly frequently but we come from a place where growing up with others viewing you with contempt and disrespect since birth is going to cause you to see things a certain way, that's why many blacks are quick to claim racism, even if it's not readily apparent or even nonexistent. A good recent example of that was David Stern's dress code for NBA players that some claim was racist, even though trying to "prove" that it was actually racist would be damn near impossible. That's one example that comes to mind.
I personally don't believe there is any mass conspiracy to keep blacks down or anything of the sort. The issue of negative role models in the black community, such as the minstrel type upn comedies to the inane behavior of certain celebrities is more "our" fault than it is "their" fault for buying into it and portraying those images. However, it's easier to sell negative stereotypes than positive images. Just look at what's happened to hip hop over the last 15 years. When gangsta rap started, there was a conscious undertone to the lyrics. Early NWA, geto boys, Ice Cube, even the Chronic had shades of conciousness. However corporate america realized it was the negativity that was selling, not the conciousness so they made a business decision to promote as much negativity in the music as possible and now we end up where we're at today. There was a whole thread on it somewhere.
What it comes down to it, blaming those negative images on racism is inaccurate, it's more capitalism then anything. The best way to combat that is to use the tools of capitalism, by choosing not to give companies money that promote disrespectful images of the black community or show disrespect to the community. Don't give them their money. Besides it's not like all these rappers that boast about crystal are getting paid by crystal or any other company (versace, rolex, donna karan, dkny, armani, maybach, etc). That's why I defended Jay-Z for his decision while others mocked him. The issue is much bigger and complex than a comment by a Crystal executive and Jay-Z's decision not to patronize that business.